Round Island Lighthouse

Round Island Lighthouse stood from 1859 to 1998 on the southwest end of Round Island in the Mississippi Sound, south of Pascagoula, Mississippi. In September 1998, the lighthouse was toppled by Hurricane Georges. In 2010, the base of the structure and other lighthouse remnants were removed from Round Island and relocated within the City of Pascagoula for restoration.HistoryConstructionIn 1833, the United States Lighthouse Board contracted for construction of a lighthouse on Round Island in the Mississippi Sound. By 1854, the Lighthouse Board determined that the structure was poorly built and was too close to the water, which eroded the foundation. Construction of a second lighthouse along with a keeper’s dwelling was contracted and completed in 1859 at a cost of $7,130.97. The 1859 tower stood tall with a focal plane of above sea level and had a visible range of 12to from a fourth order Fresnel lens.OperationUp until the 1920s, when most lighthouses were converted to electric power, various forms of oil were burned as illuminants.During the American Civil War, the Fresnel lens was removed from Round Island Lighthouse by Confederate soldiers and transported to Montgomery, Alabama for safekeeping.